The Book of Changes

In the main hall of the Marquis of Pingyang's residence, three different sets of coverings were laid out.

The first piece is a gold-flecked water vessel, which is about the size of a green pumpkin.

The gold-flecked water dropper is used to add water to the inkstone and is known as the fifth treasure of the scholar's studio.

Ordinary people would scoop a ladle of water and add it slowly to the inkstone, while wealthy families would use a water bowl.

A water container is for holding water, so naturally it is leak-proof, with no gaps or leaks.

This gold-flecked water vessel is of limited size; the contents inside are roughly the size of a fist.

The second item is a brocade box made of agarwood, about the length of an arm, which resembles the outer box previously used to hold precious medicines.

The third vessel is an inverted golden bowl, made of either bronze or gold. It is ornately decorated with dragons and phoenixes, but its purpose is unknown.

After the dancers left, the three cloaks were placed in the center of the hall on trays carried by servants.

This sparked a heated discussion among the crowd, with many eyeing Zhang Xuezhou, eager to see how this archery expert had managed to guess the answer.

"..."

Zhang Xuezhou's exposure to archery was not long, and as for the Book of Changes, he had memorized some of its contents because he needed to learn Yin-Yang School formations.

Aside from relying on his Acupoint-Fixing Technique to violently break formations, he rarely came into contact with formations, let alone searched for acupoints to construct formations.

Zhang Xuezhou's understanding of the Book of Changes was utterly incompetent; all he was left with was the ability to spout nonsense and deceive people.

Asking him to determine the answer to the riddle using the I Ching at this point would undoubtedly be absurd.

There is no pattern to the repetition; the object covered can range from a nail to a bird, from a jewel to a piece of broken glass, and there are no parameters to predict it.

Tight logical thinking and judgment involve time, people, and places. What is someone hiding at what time, in what direction, in what order, and under what circumstances? These brief factors eventually converge to form the answer to the riddle.

All of this can only be deduced through observation and speculation. Rather than a riddle, it's more like a criminal investigation tracking down clues.

Zhang Xuezhou wasn't preoccupied with those irrelevant thoughts from the Book of Changes; instead, he was carefully observing the three coverings and the three servants.

After a moment, Zhang Xuezhou had to admit that his current method of guessing was purely mystical; without using any tricks, he could only guess.

"Dongfang Shuo, how is it?" the new emperor asked, sitting in the very center of the hall.

"Your Majesty, I suspect there is nothing wrong with the object used in the archery contest, but an accurate assessment may only be possible through the actual application of divination techniques," Zhang Xuezhou replied.

"You really know the art of divination," the new emperor exclaimed in surprise.

"Absolutely, Your Majesty. I began my studies at thirteen, and my first exposure to the Book of Changes was the Book of Poetry. At sixteen, I studied the Book of Poetry and the Book of Documents..."

"Alright, alright, I believe you can perform divination!"

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou reciting the contents of the "Zixu Zhuan" and trying to apply them to his own mind, the new emperor had no choice but to let Zhang Xuezhou spout nonsense.

He hoped that Zhang Xuezhou's boasting was genuinely true.

It's rare for Marquis Pingyang to speak up, but if Zhang Xuezhou manages to obtain these items that are truly useful to those at the top level, even if their cultivation level doesn't increase significantly, they can at least be cured of their illnesses and prevent them from dying prematurely.

The new emperor was pleased to see Zhang Xuezhou's loyalty, but he did not want to spend time cultivating a talent, as Zhang died in less than two years.

"Then use your magic," the new emperor gestured.

"The answer lies among these three. When I practice divination, I inevitably come across you all. Do you three mind?"

Zhang Xuezhou agreed and then faced the three attendants who came out carrying the covered vessel.

Only after the attendants turned around and looked back, and with the Marquis of Pingyang's permission, did Zhang Xuezhou begin to stagger and dart about.

Zhang Xuezhou had an excellent memory; even though he was focused on eating, he still managed to catch glimpses of the dancers' movements.

Zhang Xuezhou was now wildly mimicking the dance moves the dancers had performed earlier, but remembering and actually demonstrating are two different things. Zhang Xuezhou thought he was doing fairly well, but to others it looked chaotic and difficult to discern any skill or technique.

Even Liu Xun, who had previously mentioned his expertise in the I Ching, scratched his head, feeling that Zhang Xuezhou's placement of the Bagua positions was completely irregular.

"Brother Liu Xun?"

"Too profound, too difficult to understand. The Yi Jing of a master archer is indeed completely different from the Yi Jing of us who can only teach and educate!"

Liu Xun fiddled with the eight tortoise shells he used for divination, feeling that he was ultimately limited to book knowledge and found it difficult to apply it in a truly effective way.

"You know the answer, and you will tell me through the art of divination!"

As he touched the tortoise shell, he heard Zhang Xuezhou shout at one of his servants.

The servant opened his mouth, then looked around at the crowd.

"I won't tell you," the servant said.

"So, it's you who will tell me?"

When Zhang Xuezhou shouted at the servant beside him, the servant shook his head repeatedly, indicating that he would not speak.

When Zhang Xuezhou shouted at the last servant, the servant simply covered his mouth with his hand.

"The I Ching contains the Eight Trigrams, and the images of these Eight Trigrams are manifested within you. Once I finish my divination, you will surely tell me the answer. You certainly won't be able to control your mouths, nor will you be able to hide your thoughts!"

Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly shouted what he had said, and continued to guide the three servants to hold fast to the answer to the question.

The more you think about something, the more solidified your previous memories become.

He didn't have any real archery skills, so he could only rely on Person-Fixing Technique to compensate.

However, the memory fragments presented by the Person-Fixing Technique require the other party to have a deep and vivid memory before they will appear in their mind. Zhang Xuezhou's constant persuasion at this time is only to make these three people have more related memories in their minds, so that he won't be unable to access the corresponding memory fragments when he actually casts the spell.

Zhang Xuezhou used this method to search for the whereabouts of Rong Tianding and others. At that time, he also enhanced the old man selling firewood's memory and then used extremely fast spellcasting to spy on him, thereby obtaining the scene from his memory.

He's resorting to the same old trick now.

After repeatedly reminding the three servants, he reached out and touched the center of one of their foreheads, and a brief memory that lasted for more than ten seconds immediately flooded into his mind.

The useless memories made Zhang Xuezhou frown.

This made him jump around in a panic, so he couldn't help but remind them twice more, choosing to reinforce the impression these servants had of archery skills.

Only after the second Person-Fixing Technique was cast did Zhang Xuezhou glimpse a scene from the other person's memory: a group of people carrying overturned vessels and hiding things.

"Hahaha, you've already told me the answer. Although you didn't move your mouth, Taiji gives rise to Yin and Yang, Yin and Yang give rise to the Four Symbols, the Four Symbols give rise to the Eight Trigrams, and the Eight Trigrams are arranged in order, with the symbols within them. You are that symbol!"

"My lord, I didn't say that!"

Zhang Xuezhou's ramblings threw the servant into a state of confusion, leaving him momentarily bewildered as to what the other man had done.

"This is Dongfang Shuo's Yi. Just wait patiently until he finishes performing the Yi technique." Marquis Pingyang stroked his short beard and said, "Answer his three questions then, and he will reveal the secret of Shefu!"

"Your Excellency is right. Your companions have already told me the answer. Are you still hiding it?"

Zhang Xuezhou had already gleaned the relevant information during his second attempt at the technique; his third attempt was purely a pretense.

He only stopped when he had applied the same dot to the head of the third servant.

"Has this magic technique been completed?" Princess Yangxin asked.

"It's all done, Your Highness," Zhang Xuezhou nodded. "Next, I only need to ask them three questions, and then I can find the answers by combining the divination results."

"That's truly amazing," Princess Yangxin said. "This is the first time I've ever seen such a magical technique. I sensed a faint, subtle fluctuation of Law Power. If you hadn't explained it to me, I would have found it hard to believe that this was a magical technique."

"There are countless interpretations of the I Ching, and each person's understanding of it differs. This is merely one person's opinion!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved his hands repeatedly in response, indicating that it was normal for his methods of divination to differ somewhat.

He didn't care what other people's divination looked like; this was the divination he used to make a living.

"I'm going to start asking questions!"

After responding to Princess Yangxin, Zhang Xuezhou turned his attention to the three servants, which immediately piqued everyone's curiosity. They wanted to hear what kind of question Zhang Xuezhou would ask and whether he could get the correct answer.

"May I have your name?"

"Sir, my name is Li Gao!"

Zhang Xuezhou asked the first servant, who answered honestly and then quickly covered his mouth.

"How old are you this year?" Zhang Xuezhou asked the second servant.

"Sir, I am twenty-three years old this year!"

The second servant hesitated for a moment, but still answered Zhang Xuezhou's question.

He glanced at Li Gao, who was covering his mouth, and then covered his own mouth as well.

Are your parents still alive?

Zhang Xuezhou asked the third person, who had previously covered his mouth, and the servant nodded repeatedly, indicating that his parents were alive and well.

"Your Majesty, I already know the answer!"

After asking his three questions, Zhang Xuezhou pretended to think for no more than three seconds before beginning to give his answers.